Australia’s online job ads fall 5.6% in August

Australia’s online job ads have fallen by an additional 5.6% in August, marking the third straight monthly decline after job ads hit a 12-year high in May this year, preliminary figures from the National Skills Commission show. 

The sharpest decline in job ads in the month were registered in areas currently under lockdown, said the commission. Ads fell by 9.2% in New South Wales, 9% in the Australian Capital Territory, and 5.9% in Victoria. 

In July, it recorded a fall of 3% to 7,200 job ads, bringing total online advertisements to 232,600. In the month, New South Wales recorded the strongest fall in recruitment activity over the month, down by 10.3% to 8,100 job ads.

Victoria recorded the only increase in job ads during July, an increase of 3.9% , after recording the strongest fall across states and territories in job ads in June 2021 (a fall of 4.2%) in response to a COVID-19 lockdown.

On Tuesday, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe warned that “GDP is expected to decline materially in the September quarter and the unemployment rate will move higher over coming months”. 

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“This setback to the economic expansion is expected to be only temporary. The Delta outbreak is expected to delay, but not derail, the recovery. As vaccination rates increase further and restrictions are eased, the economy should bounce back,” he said in a statement.